


The Drop of a Pin

by ATatForTatzelwurm



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, I don't think this counts as angst?, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Not Beta Read, Sonic Forces, What-If, minor character injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 13:32:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16661931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ATatForTatzelwurm/pseuds/ATatForTatzelwurm
Summary: What if Shadow was a tactician in the war? What if he had a simple jacket, left lying about the bases whenever he forgot it? What if he left it in the barracks?AKA me and some friends on discord made a 'Tactician Shadow AU' and I wrote about one particular concept 3 times in a row. Does not actually feature Shadow being a tactician. For now.





	1. Green, Yellow, and Gold

He didn't notice it until he'd already walked out, wondering why everyone was staring at him--even more than usual. Amy looked up as he entered the room, looking first to his hand.  
  
"Whacha got there, Shadow?"  
  
He turned it over in his hand again. "I don't know. I found it in my pocket after I forgot it in the barracks, but I don't know who put it there or why."  
  
She walked over and he opened his palm, letting the metal on the small object catch the light. "Oh!" She gasped. "That's--that's a squadron pin. They aren't being made anymore, what with the mixing and matching of groups in the army now, but when the war started squadrons would have pins made with their emblem on it, so their leaders would know who belonged where during raids and such." Her face fell. "They're starting to get rare, since so many squadrons with the originals have been defeated.”  
  
Shadow stared at the pin. Green and yellow with golden plating, shaped into what he imagined was a wing. "Do you know which one this belonged to?" He breathed. There was no telling how precious the emblem was.  
  
"No, but I can check for you, if you want."  
  
"Please." He handed the pin to Amy and followed her to the main computer. After a few moments of typing, she pulled up a file.  
  
"The Warbler Squadron. Mainly worked as diversions, distractions, and sent signals for other squads. They were... They were defeated in Windy Valley, but the few survivors were... assimilated into the group you lead last week."  
  
A warbler's wing. His force had won that battle, and he remembered it was very much due to the quick wit and clever thinking of the signal bearers--all green and yellow birds, he realized. He took the pin off the table and removed the backing, carefully placing it on his right breast pocket, where he had found it.  
  
The warblers song would not be lost in the war, he decided. None of their stories would be. He didn't care how long it would take to memorize their pins, codenames and histories. Even if soldiers were lost, their memory would not be.


	2. Lookout's Watch

"Shh, there he is!" I snapped upright, ears perked and scanning the room immediately. The quiet jingle of metal rang softly through the room, louder to me than any other noise that could've been made. Shadow the hedgehog himself walked into the barracks--not unusual, but this time it was *special.*

 

Last night, he'd left his infamous jacket on one of the benches again. I'd watched as two familiar soldiers walked up to it and left their emblems in the pockets, before being voted to be the soldier out of my group to entrust ours with him too. It was a special duty, considered previously but never carried out, but after our near-felling at Mirage Saloon it was finalized.

 

He'd saved all three groups involved--first us, once we'd been spotted and attacked, then the other two--Dingos and Caracals, after they were sent to rescue us and were overwhelmed. It was rare for Shadow to join the battlefield himself, but with what I remember I was glad he did. Not many leaders would risk so much to save a meager lookout and sniping squad, especially one that was so injured by the point of his arrival.

 

He walked past our group and paused. I gulped, overwhelmed by the presence of the hero who saved us all after we thought we were goners. He nodded. We nodded back, and he continued walking.

 

The sight of the Meercat Squadron pin on his right shoulder felt like I was holding the sun in my hands, regardless of the loss of my arm.


	3. Dim Light, Late Night

Sonic ambled into the strategy room slowly, sore and wrung from the missions of the day and the thought of doing it all again tomorrow. He loved being free again, he really did, but six months of no proper stretching or running took a heavy toll on him. And Espio said he was probably traumatized, but that could be dealt with _after_  he found a crate or something to sleep on. Whatever, as long as it wasn't enclosed.

A flash from something shiny caught his eye, and he walked up to a faded, grey-ish denim jacket lying on one of the boxes scattered around the room. He picked it up by one of the sleeves, inspecting the conceptually familiar pins the clothing was covered in.

He hadn't been around for very long at the start of the war, but he knew that whoever the jacket belonged to was either popular or important, probably both. He flipped it over and glanced at the massive groupings of emblems. He didn't think he had the energy to count them all, but the mystery of who and why someone would collect mass amounts of Squadron Pins was beyond him.

The sound of one of the doors opening startled him from his thoughts.

"Oh, hello." Shadow paused in the doorway. "I... See you found my jacket."

Sonic blinked. "I--this is yours?"

He knew he was tired, but hallucinating Shadow _blushing_  as he walked towards him was probably a bad thing. "Yes, I left it here on accident during the mission preparation today. ...Can I have it back, now?" Sonic quickly looked between the jacket and Shadow in disbelief before handing it over. He sighed as he took it, staring down at the pins. "I'm sure... you saw what this is decorated with."

It took Sonic an embarrassingly long time to realize Shadow was waiting on a response. "Uh--yeah, I did." Another pause. He didn't know if it was awkward or just somber. "So... where'd you get all those?"

"The soldiers give them to me."

"Whoa, really?"

"Yes. They've never done it in person, but... Whenever I forget it in the barracks, soldiers from different squadrons put their pins in the pockets. It makes them happy when I come back wearing them." The soft smile that appeared on his face made Sonic think it made Shadow happy too. "According to the Chaotix, the soldiers see it as a sign of trust." He looked at Sonic. "I'm going to the barracks now, in fact. Care to join us? I believe some of the canine squads were organizing a card game championship tonight."

Sonic opened his mouth to say 'yes' and yawned. He laughed. "As much as I want to, I should probably get some sleep. Big day tomorrow, y’know?”

Shadow’s mouth quirked upwards. If he wasn’t so exhausted, Sonic would have sworn up and down that he  _smiled._  “Maybe tomorrow night, then. There should be multiple rounds.” He put the jacket on and walked away, pins gleaming faintly in the low light.

Well, maybe a visit to the barracks after tomorrow’s missions wouldn’t be a bad idea after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had no intention for this to be shippy and I still see this interaction as strictly platonic, but I am going to be the first to admit that it does look like Sonadow if you tilt your head and squint a little.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact I wrote the first 3 chapters in an hour and 25 minutes over the course of a day and a half. According to the timestamps on Discord, the chapters took 24, 28, and 33 minutes respectively


End file.
